The richest neighborhoods in Los Angeles

For well over a century, Los Angeles has been attracting plenty of wealthy residents seeking the success-affirming ocean views and rays of California sunshine.

But when it comes to picking a neighborhood, where are the wealthy citizens of LA most likely to settle?

Not too surprisingly, the answer seems to be Bel Air—where developers of behemoth megamansions are on a real tear lately.

That’s according to a recent analysis by L.A. Biz, in collaboration with mapping data company Esri. The study examined the wealthiest zip codes in LA County. Here are the top 10:

90077 (Bel Air/Beverly Glen)

90274 (Palos Verdes Estates)

91108 (San Marino)

90272 (Pacific Palisades/Rustic Canyon)

91011 (La Cañada Flintridge)

90210 (Beverly Hills)

91302 (Hidden Hills/Calabasas)

91436 (Encino)

90402 (Santa Monica/Santa Monica Canyon)

90275 (Rancho Palos Verdes)

For a more detailed analysis of the wealthiest neighborhoods, check out the Higley 1000—a report that uses information from the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey 2006-2010, examines census tract subdivisions, and pinpoints the nation’s most affluent neighborhoods according to their mean household incomes. (Fun!)

Recent results (via The Atlantic Cities) reveal that, of the top 1,000 wealthiest neighborhoods nationwide, a total of 55 of them are in LA County. We’ve gone and narrowed it down even further, picking out the top 10 in LA County.

Some of the usual suspects, like Beverly Hills (also distinguished as the most unequal city in California), obviously made the cut but there are quite a few surprises (and curious absences) on the list.

The top 10 richest neighborhoods in Los Angeles County, with their mean household income:

Beverly Park: $502,440

The Hill Section of Manhattan Beach: $399,820

Beverly Hills (the 90120 section): $395,734

Hidden Hills: $383,731

Rolling Hills: $373,524

Bel-Air Estates: $355,007

Upper Laurel Canyon: $332,037

Brentwood Park: $324,289

Coldwater Canyon: $323,929

Brentwood Heights: $321,933

Explaining how some well-known hubs of affluence could have slipped in the rankings, the folks at Higley explain it’s all those not-rich people in multi-family housing:

“A small change in boundaries, particularly if apartments, condominiums are included, can cause a neighborhood’s income to plummet. The neighborhood that was number one in 2000, Holmby Hills in the Platinum Triangle had its boundaries redrawn to take in smaller homes in Westwood and hundreds of so-so condo high-rises on Wilshere [sic x100].”

Holmby Hills sunk to six-hundred-seventy-seventh place in this round of the Higley.